The present invention relates to an automatic direction changing apparatus, and more particularly to an automatic direction changing apparatus which renders it possible to turn by any directional angle to the right or left or to move to the right or left a parked or stopped vehicle, so that the direction of the vehicle can be readily changed in a narrow space such as an alley or when a vehicle is sandwiched between two other vehicles.
Recently, the traffic problem and the parking problem in downtown areas due to the increase in the number of vehicles is becoming increasingly serious day by day. Particularly, in the case where a vehicle has to be drawn out from being sandwiched between the front and back in a narrow space such as a parking lot or in the case when it is desired to turn the vehicle on a narrow road or at a blind alley, an apparatus that can turn a vehicle with minimum rotational radius is desired.
A direction changing apparatus utilizing oil pressure is disclosed in Korean Pat. Publication No. 88-5162 (Apr. 15, 1988). This patent shows a structure in which oil pressure cylinders connected with an oil pressure pump are respectively mounted to both front and rear portions and to a side portion of the bottom of a vehicle. The reduction gear and rollers are respectively attached at the bottom end of the piston of said oil pressure cylinder, in which the piston is lifted or dropped by utilizing the oil pressure by the oil pressure pump, and the rollers at the end of the piston are turned by motors respectively arranged separately, so that turning to the desired direction, and right and left movement can be executed. However, the apparatus is composed of a relatively complicated structure such as an oil pressure pump and the motor for driving it, three cylinders and pistons, and the motors for driving the rollers attached respectively at each end of the front, rear and side pistons. Further, it has the problems that the rollers end up sticking on a road surface which is not very hard because the rollers for directional change are of relatively small size, therefore making the actual direction change operation difficult. There has also been the problem that when the vehicle is turned, since the rotational radius in accordance with the turning of a vehicle begins to exceed the whole length of the vehicle, the space required for turning becomes broader.